Lancashire’s players are to get expert advice on sleeping in their bid to secure silverware this season.

Lightning continue their march towards the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday when they take on the Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.

They go into the match joint top of the North Division with Worcestershire, knowing that victory will move them not just one step closer to the last eight but to a possible home quarter-final which is given to the sides which finish in the top two.

As part of a new sponsorship deal with Silentnight, Lancashire’s players be given expert sleep advice from the company’s sleep specialist Dr Nerina Ramlakhan.

“Ask any top athletes and they will tell you that sleeping soundly plays as important a part in their performance as training hard or following a healthy diet,” said Nick Booth, Silentnight’s marketing director.

“Dr Ramlakhan will work closely with the players to see how we can help them get a great night’s sleep.”

And former Red Rose skipper and England Test wicketkeeper Warren Hegg believes the advice will only benefit the players.

“The difference between winning and losing is often a small one in sport, and we’re hoping it will improve our players’ sleep and will give us that extra competitive edge on the pitch,” he said.

Andrew Flintoff, who is yet to play a first-team game since re-signing for Lancashire, is back in the squad for the trip to Edgbaston.

But despite continuing to improve, skipper Glen Chapple says that with the form the team are showing in T20 cricket, it would be a tough call to leave somebody out to make way for the former England captain. Lancashire do have another game on Sunday against fellow table-toppers Worcestershire at New Road.

“There’s a chance Fred could play, but everybody’s fit at the moment and it would be a big call,” he said.

“We want to take every game as it comes and pick the right team.

“The club wants a home quarter-final and so do the players, but there’s a way to go yet. We’ve just got to make sure that we do everything well.

“It’s a boring cliche, but we’ll stick to what we’re good at and let the everything take care of itself.”